Practicalities

Here's a cautionary tale about bringing furnishings by plane.

In mid-August I flew to STX and tried to bring some folding chairs, household linens, kitchen supplies, tools and other furnishings inside 4 checked bags. I flew with American Airlines/American Eagle and very carefully followed their website baggage regulations. I confirmed the baggage regulations with an airline representative ahead of time, and used the 2 bag allowance apiece for both myself and my companion.

Unfortunately, we flew the morning after the London terrorist threats so I don't know how "normal" our disastrous experience was. The airline refused to take "oversized" bags even for the normal $100 fee. They refused packages covered with cardboard or plastic. They refused any "overweight" in excess of 75 lbs, regardless of willingness to pay.

We repacked much of our goods in $35 embargo bags, but had to leave other items behind.

Apparently there are seasonal differences in the regulations. Some of this was the chaos of that particular day.

Good luck. I would bring items by plane again, but would do my research differently.

-- Joanna

Jen -

My boyfriend and I just moved to STT a little over a month ago. We just got the last of our boxes today in the mail so it does take about a month before they start showing up.

What did we bring on the plane? Things we knew we couldn't live without -- computers, clothes, toiletries, alarm clock, george foreman, towels, sheets, etc.

We put everything else in the mail. I suppose what you take and what you mail will also depend on your living situation when you arrive on island. We had a place to stay so that did eliminate the need for some things.

The one thing I didn't bring on the airplane and had to end up buying since our boxes were taking a while was stuff like a can opener. Little items that seem stupid to bring but are expensive to replace on island.

If you have any other questions let me know!

allison

Hi Jen,
I moved to St. John over a year ago now. I don't know how much help I can be, since I came down here to live with my boyfriend, who already had a condo with furnishings, and cable, phone, etc. set up. On the plane, I brought with me basically all my clothes — two suitcases packed full, plus a carry-on duffel bag. Yeah, I was one of THOSE people, whose carry-on is obviously too big to be on the plane 🙂
I tried to get rid of most of my sweaters, but just couldn't part with all of them. More than a year later, they are gathering dust on the floor of my closet. I plan on living here, forever, or at least long enough that my sweaters will be out of style by the time I leave, so I definitely wish I had just parted with all of them (I'll borrow my mom's sweaters and jackets if I ever visit the states when it's cold, or buying cheap sweaters at a thrift store, then donating them when you leave, is another option). I had my mom mail me four boxes of stuff I didn't need immediately, like photo albums and other keepsakes. She mailed them one by one, and they each took about three weeks to a month to arrive.
I know you are coming down with cats, and while I'm not a cat person, I do have two dogs, so I can try to help with pet-related and veterinary questions.
If you have any questions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to ask me, and I will do my best to help you. This message board was an invaluable resource during my move, and I hope to be able to return the favor whenever I can.
Good luck!

notes on "stuff",..

1) i got the 70 lb limit, not the 75 when i mailed stuff to myself, either is pretty stiff. no leniency with the usps. i also put the not-as-much-needed articles in my boxes and shipped it book rate... 6 weeks!
2) i put my cigarette lighters inside of an altoids tin and was ok.
3) if you come over on an ATR from american eagle out of Puerto Rico (instead of a CRJ-200) they might have your curb-checked limit be 50 lbs for your carry on... i know some of you are thinking that's a bit... but with a smartecarte it works...
4) smile and have patience... i arrived two days ago and this is the best thing.

-pauly hart

oh!

p.s. (or) 5) delta lost my luggage on my exploration trip down here. and i have not heard anything on my $2800 coming... grrrr... so if you notice in the fine print on the inside of the ticket jacket that they are not responsible for lost technological gadgets... so my carry-ons on this trip have been... well... goofy... i even have my extra hard drive in my carry on (waiting to be unpacked) lol.

hope this helps!

-pauly

Delta also lost my bag and I received the check (all $2800.00 of it) approx 6 weeks after filing the claim - which was exactly the time frame I was given - so hang in there 🙂

Pia